Town of Granby
Granby Library Board Meeting Minutes
November 9, 2009
held at Granby Public Library
Call to order: A quorum was present and the meeting was called to order at 7:34 p.m.
Members present: Chairman Lynn Lochhead, Dick Lydon, Carol Bressor, Bob Donna, and Marty Council
Members excused: Judy Goff and Shawn Ball
Absent: Lisa Blessis
Staff: Joan Fox
Visitors: Bruce and Bobbie Sullivan
Review Agenda
C. Bressor was asked to speak about LibraTects at the West Hartford Library.
Minutes
Upon reviewing the minutes of September 14, 2009 it was noted on page two, Seth Holcombe paragraph, Dixson should be spelled Dickson.
ON A MOTION by M. Council, seconded by C. Bressor, the Board voted (5-0-0), to approve the minutes of the meeting of September 14, 2009 with the above noted correction.
Public Comment: Mr. Sullivan handed out copies of a letter from Ed Sweeney dated February 22, 1997, regarding improvements to the Cossitt Library.
Director’s Report
Statistics for June Granby Cossitt Total
Circulation 12,525 1,489 14,014
Programs / attendance 41/547 4/23 45/570
InterLibrary Loans Loaned: 117 Borrowed: 282
Connecticard 2,724
Funds received from lost books (quarterly): n/a
Director’s Report:
· Recycling magic program has been rescheduled for April 2010.
· Thursday, November 12th is the Out of the Attic antique program.
· December 3rd, Craig Hotchkiss will host a program about Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe.
· Holcomb Farm Book Club will have their first discussion on January 12, 2010. This is an adult program and will have a new book every 6 weeks. Lucy Lindeyer from Holcomb Farm is the person organizing this. The first book will be Wisdom of the Last Farmer by David Mas Masumoto.
· The Un-book Club is reading Plum Wine by Angela Davis-Gardner for November’s selection and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald will be December’s selection. Fiction seems to be most popular in this club.
· Both Libraries will be closed, Wednesday, November 11, 2009 in honor of Veteran’s Day.
· Libraries will close early on Wednesday, November 25th and will be closed until Monday, November 30th for the Thanksgiving holiday. Staff members are paid to check and empty the book drops over a long weekend like this.
· The paperback collection was recently categorized. Surprisingly, 10% of the adult book circulation is in paperbacks.
· The Avon Library Building referendum recently passed. The Board is curious as to who the Architect for this project is. The addition will be going out, not up and additional parking will be gained. The building is presently 18,000 sq. ft and will grow to 40,000 sq. ft.
J. Fox stated she is writing an article for The Drummer and asked if the Board had any suggestions for material. It was suggested that the Board vacancy be mentioned.
J. Fox and Deb Woodsome attended the New England Conference. It covered things like reinventing the customer center of the library, reviewing and examining rules periodically, good use of space, and fine free Friday’s. L. Lochhead mentioned donating canned goods instead of paying a fine for overdue books, which has been done successfully in the past. Also covered was cell phone use at the library and texting information to patrons regarding overdue books or to tell them a book they asked for is in. Email reminders also work well and save on postage.
Cossitt
There will be a Gingerbread House contest in December for adults and children, with prizes for the winners.
Bobbie Sullivan reported the Cookbook sale is going well.
Old Business
Expansion Committee Update: L. Lochhead reported there is no status change at this time. It doesn’t look like the town will be starting new projects in the near future. The State Library will be accepting applications for a grant. J. Fox will look at the information and show Bill Kennedy. This grant would be awarded next spring and might be used for a town wide survey regarding the library expansion project.
Board Vacancy: no volunteer has been found yet. This volunteer should be a Republican or an Unaffiliated voter. The Board suggested a notice, regarding this opening, be posted in both libraries.
Seth Holcombe: nothing new to report.
Cossitt Improvement Project: GLA Minutes from September 9th were reviewed regarding the renovation project. The Board reviewed questions Mr. Sullivan has and J. Fox was able to provide answers to almost all of them. Liability issues during renovations were discussed and updated costs were included in this material. Mr. Sullivan is looking for calculations and he questioned if measurements were initially take at Cossitt. L. Lochhead stated that this Board doesn’t have that information, but it’s probably elsewhere. Maybe Public Works or the Town Manager’s office has it. It was suggested that a meeting with Public Works Director James Klase; Town Manager William Smith; First Selectman John Adams; Architect, Lori DiBattisto; and Mr. Sullivan might help him to get the answers to his
questions. Mr. Sullivan was asked to email his unanswered questions to the Board members and J. Fox. L. Lochhead will make arrangements for this meeting.
J. Fox would like to hear from the Friends of the Cossitt Library that they will support the renovations and help to move forward with fund raising efforts.
GLB Liaisons to Friends and GLA: D. Lydon agreed to attend the GLA meetings. It was noted that communication between the Boards is very important. The next GLA meeting is December 8th. C. Bressor or J. Goff may be able to attend the Friends of the GPL meetings. They will check their schedules. L. Lochhead is available to attend this weeks meeting of the Friends of Cossitt Library.
Reappointments for 2010: S. Ball, B. Donna, and M. Council’s terms will expire January 11, 2010. S. Ball and B. Donna would like to be re-appointed for another term. M. Council hasn’t decided yet. He voiced frustration over what this Board can and can’t do. He feels the town doesn’t strongly support the libraries. His decision needs to be made by December.
New Business
C. Bressor reported on her visit to the West Hartford Library at Blue Back Square. She said the library has a nice layout, good signage, collections of books are well marked, series books are separated out, furniture is nice, reference area for adults is laid out very well, and the building has easy access.
Adjournment
ON A MOTION by M. Council, seconded by C. Bressor, the Board voted unanimously (5-0-0) to adjourn the meeting at 8:58 p.m.
The next meeting will be Monday, December 14, 2009, 7:30 p.m., at Granby Public Library.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Christian
Recording Secretary
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